]]>Here are five things we’re pondering as Patrick Roy and Co. make a visit tonight to the Rog (7 p.m., Sportsnet Pacific, TSN 1040).

1. Looks like Burrows and Hansen aren’t out

Wingers Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen, who both missed practice Wednesday for what was referred to as maintenance days, were on the ice for the optional morning skate today, which suggests the Canucks (43-26-4) will go with the same line-up they had in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

You’d assume that Burrows would be back with Henrik and Daniel Sedin on Vancouver’s top line. Daniel’s on a five-game point streak (2-6-8). It’s the third time he’s recorded points in five or more straight games this season.

The twins have had success throughout their careers against the Avalanche, too. Daniel has 60 points, including 29 goals, in 71 career games versus Colorado (33-28-12), while Henrik has 63 points, including 21 goals, in 77 games.

Vancouver has won three straight and five of six.

“It goes really fast in this business. We have to keep pounding away and doing our thing,” said Canucks netminder Eddie Lack.

2. A first win for old sweaters?

Vancouver will wear uniforms honouring the Vancouver Millionaires, who won the Stanley Cup on March 26, 2015.

“It’s (the Millionaires’) obviously a really good history and it’s a fun game to be a part of,’ said Lack. It’s the third time for the Canucks to don the maroon-coloured jerseys. They’re 0-2 so far.

3. Who are these Avs?

The Canucks haven’t seen the Avalanche since November. Colorado, one of the feel-good stories of the NHL last year, has been besieged by injuries this time around and are 12th in the Western Conference going into the game. They dropped a 4-3 decision Wednesday in Edmonton, which was their third straight defeat.

They’re sitting at 422 man games lost from injuries. The players they’re currently without include top-pairing defenceman Erik Johnson (knee), who is averaging a team-high 24:25 of ice time, and top-six centre Nathan MacKinnon (foot).

Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins still talked up their team speed, explaining, “they can create offence quickly.”

Their best players of late have included defenceman Tyson Barrie, yet another rearguard product from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. Barrie played 28:44 against Edmonton Wednesday, which was the second-highest total of his career.

He had 47 points on the season, the most by a Colorado defenceman since 2005-06, when Rob Blake had 51 and John-Michael Liles put up 49.

4. Riddle-me twice

The Avalanche have a pair of Canuck arch nemeses: Jarome Iginla has the most points of any active player against the Canucks, with 79, including 31 goals, in 93 games; Alex Tanguay has the second most, with 60 points, including 21 goals, in 67 games.

The veteran wingers are both still putting up numbers. Tanguay, 35, comes into the Vancouver game with 21 goals on the campaign, while Iginla, 37, has 25.

5. Varlamov and Lack to start

Colorado didn’t skate this morning, but in goal they’re expected to go with Semyon Varlamov, since he played just 9:36 Wednesday in Edmonton before getting pulled. He gave up three goals on seven shots.

In his career against Vancouver, he’s 3-8-1, with a 2.86 goals against and a .902 save percentage.

Lack is expected to get the call for Vancouver. He’s 0-1-1, with a 4.96 goals against and a .868 save percentage in his career versus the Avalanche.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/26/184420/feed/0Vancouver Canucks v Colorado Avalanchesteveewencanucks2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic - Ottawa Senators v Vancouver CanucksColorado Avalanche v Calgary FlamesOttawa Senators v Colorado AvalancheDaniel Sedin, Jan Hejda, Semyon VarlamovPP goal in OT pushes Noel to angry mood, knocks Giants out of WHL playoff hunthttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/21/pp-goal-pushes-noel-to-angry-side-knocks-giants-out-of-whl-playoff-hunt/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/21/pp-goal-pushes-noel-to-angry-side-knocks-giants-out-of-whl-playoff-hunt/#commentsSat, 21 Mar 2015 10:42:07 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=183888It was bound to end messy for the Vancouver Giants, wasn’t it?
Zane Jones picked up a rare overtime penalty, getting dinged for a checking to the head infraction 55 seconds into the extra session, and Kelowna Rockets point man …]]>It was bound to end messy for the Vancouver Giants, wasn’t it?
Zane Jones picked up a rare overtime penalty, getting dinged for a checking to the head infraction 55 seconds into the extra session, and Kelowna Rockets point man Madison Bowey wired home the winner 10 seconds into the ensuing power play to secure a 4-3 win over the Giants before a crowd of 11,644 at the Pacific Coliseum.
It was the Giants’ regular season home finale and ended up being their last night of meaningful action for 2014-15. Vancouver needed to beat Kelowna at home Friday and on the road Saturday and have both the Tri-City Americans and Kamloops Blazers lose their remaining games to nab a share of the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs and force a tiebreaker game.
About an hour before Bowey scored, the Americans were celebrating a 4-2 win over the Portland Winterhawks. Vancouver was officially ousted then; Bowey and the Rockets just poured salt in the wound.
“We had an idea,” said Vancouver goaltender Cody Porter when asked if the players knew what was happening in the Tri-City game, which started 30 minutes before the Vancouver contest. “We had guys checking (during the second intermission).
“Going into the third period, we still wanted to play our game and do what we had to do.”
Giants coach Claude Noel, who took over 25 games into the season from the fired Troy Ward and is expected to return to the pro ranks next season, praised his players for their effort. It was one of their better performances of the last month or so. Vancouver, who went from 21 wins in 2012-13 to 32 last year, are stuck on 27 going into Saturday, thanks largely to a just-completed nine-game losing skid.
Underage call-up Dawson Holt, a centre who was one of Vancouver’s first-round picks in last May’s bantam draft, was particularly good Friday, and was rewarded with his first WHL goal. Alec Baer and Mason Geertsen had the other markers, while Porter stopped 21 shots in the Vancouver net.
It was the seventh straight loss to Kelowna this season, and the 12th in a row dating back to last year.
Noel was critical of referees Ryan Benbow and Kevin Bennett afterwards. That wasn’t something he made a habit of in his time in Vancouver.
“I thought the refereeing was awful,” said Noel. “It’s not the penalty at the end for me. It’s the long changes. How long are you going to wait for them to make a decision on a change? We were lucky to get out of here at 10:30 p.m. It could have been midnight with the way they managed the game.
“I don’t want to get into the calls, but they don’t make a call on a trip on [Giants defenceman Brennan] Menell and then you have to call one after that?
“I haven’t had a problem with the refereeing all year. Just this game. To me, this game wasn’t good.
“If you call the game, there’s a penalty on (the trip on) Menell. Both teams got called for way less before. Just make the call that’s there.”
The Giants held their team awards ceremony before the contest. Geertsen, as expected as picked MVP. Here’s a list.
The team honoured overages Jones, Dalton Sward and Matt Bellerive after the game. Sward and Bellerive missed the contest with injuries. Noel hinted that he might go with a young line-up tonight in Kelowna.
It could be the last Giants game for several players, with general manager Scott Bonner talking about breaking up his core group. This is the second time in three years that Vancouver will miss the playoffs.]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/21/pp-goal-pushes-noel-to-angry-side-knocks-giants-out-of-whl-playoff-hunt/feed/0crop_25908468_27_1426909275steveewenHighlights from owner Ron Toigo, GM Scott Bonner talking with fans before WHL Giants gamehttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/20/highlights-from-owner-ron-toigo-gm-scott-bonner-talking-with-fans-before-whl-giants-game/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/20/highlights-from-owner-ron-toigo-gm-scott-bonner-talking-with-fans-before-whl-giants-game/#commentsSat, 21 Mar 2015 03:11:33 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=183868Vancouver Giants owner Ron Toigo and general manager Scott Bonner took questions from fans prior to the team’s final regular season home game Friday night against the Kelowna Rockets.

Here’s a sampling.

Scott Bonner: “The road performance has let us …

]]>Vancouver Giants owner Ron Toigo and general manager Scott Bonner took questions from fans prior to the team’s final regular season home game Friday night against the Kelowna Rockets.

Here’s a sampling.

Scott Bonner: “The road performance has let us down. We haven’t performed on the road. That usually points to your leadership. I think the leadership core has to step up. When you’re going to carry this many younger players, you’re really going to lean on your older guys, and especially on the road.”

Scott Bonner on the loss of team captain Dalton Sward to a broken hand: “We didn’t have enough leaders to start with and when we lost one of our most influential ones…no one, to date, has stepped up and grabbed that role.”

Scott Bonner on whether the same core group of forwards is coming back next year: “It depends on ‘core’ obviously. We have scoring problems this year. We’re going to have to change up some of the roster. We have to change some of the identity. I think we’re going to have to have some more competitive people. When you talk about the Benson, Stukels, Fosters, some of younger guys…they’re here obviously. We’re going to need the older guys to be grittier, play harder. We need leadership. We’re in this position for a reason. We’re going to have critically look at our roster and make some tough decisions. Some of these kids have been here for awhile and they haven’t performed up to snuff this year.”

Scott Bonner on whether Claude Noel will return as coach: “I think Claude’s goal, all along, was to get back to pro hockey. He’s accustomed to coaching pro. The pay checks are a lot better in pro than they are in the Western League. Claude’s been a pleasure to work with. I’m not sure, from our perspective, you can wait until July or August, when a coach of his stature is going to exhaust all pro searching options. We’re going to set up and look for a coach who is going to coach this group. Hopefully, it’s a perfect fit. Obviously Troy was a mistake, as it turned out.”

Toigo said that the Giants would be back at the Pacific Coliseum next year, nixing rumors that they’re looking for another venue. He said that’s another year on the lease, and then a five-year team option.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/20/highlights-from-owner-ron-toigo-gm-scott-bonner-talking-with-fans-before-whl-giants-game/feed/010894432steveewenVancouver remains in WHL playoff hunt thanks to Cougars win over Blazershttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/19/prince-george-does-the-giants-a-favour-vancouver-remains-in-hunt-for-whl-playoffs/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/19/prince-george-does-the-giants-a-favour-vancouver-remains-in-hunt-for-whl-playoffs/#commentsThu, 19 Mar 2015 15:16:42 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=183582The Vancouver Giants’ home game Friday with the Kelowna Rockets has been assured of having meaning in the standings.

The Prince George Cougars’ 4-2 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday kept the Giants are in the hunt for the …

]]>The Vancouver Giants’ home game Friday with the Kelowna Rockets has been assured of having meaning in the standings.

The Prince George Cougars’ 4-2 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday kept the Giants are in the hunt for the eighth and final playoff spot out of the WHL’s Western Conference.

Vancouver still has no margin for error. The Giants (27-40-1-2) need to sweep their home-and-home with top-seeded Rockets (51-13-5-1) on Friday and Saturday and have the Blazers (27-36-4-3) and the Tri-City Americans (29-37-0-3) lose their five combined remaining games to create a play-in game with Tri-City for that final spot.

League rules say that teams tied for the last playoff position must have a one-game duel to decide who gets in. Assuming Vancouver wins their remaining games and both Kamloops and Tri-City loses their contests, all four clubs would have 61 points.

Tri-City and Vancouver would both have 29 wins, which would push them to the tiebreaker game.

On Friday, Kamloops is in Prince George (30-35-2-3) again, while Tri-City is home to the Portland Winterhawks (42-21-2-4). The P.G. game starts at 7 p.m., the Tri-City one at 7:05 p.m. Vancouver’s tilt kicks off at 7:30 p.m., which means we could know that Vancouver is eliminated before the final buzzer between the Giant and Rockets.

The Rockets are 6-0-0-0 against Vancouver this season and 13-1-0-0 over the past two campaigns. Over the last five seasons in Vancouver, the Rockets have 13-3-3-0 record.

The Giants came into the WHL in 2001-02 and have only missed the playoffs twice. The last time, though, was just two seasons ago.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/19/prince-george-does-the-giants-a-favour-vancouver-remains-in-hunt-for-whl-playoffs/feed/0Vancouver Giants v Kelowna RocketssteveewenHighlight-reel helper from Barzal helps Seattle win and keeps Giants WHL playoff push goinghttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/18/highlight-reel-helper-from-barzal-helps-seattle-win-and-keeps-giants-whl-playoff-push-going/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/18/highlight-reel-helper-from-barzal-helps-seattle-win-and-keeps-giants-whl-playoff-push-going/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 15:09:05 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=183428The Vancouver Giants still have playoff hope.
The Seattle Thunderbirds got a hat trick from Scott Eansor and three helpers from Nolan Volcan en route to a 7-3 win over the Tri-City Americans Tuesday night.
Any points from the Americans …]]>The Vancouver Giants still have playoff hope.
The Seattle Thunderbirds got a hat trick from Scott Eansor and three helpers from Nolan Volcan en route to a 7-3 win over the Tri-City Americans Tuesday night.
Any points from the Americans or the Kamloops Blazers this week and the Giants are ousted from the postseason hunt.
Kamloops, led by former Giants coach Don Hay, visits the Prince George Cougars Wednesday night.
Even if the Americans (29-37-0-3) and Blazers (27-35-4-3) lose their now remaining six combined games, the Giants (27-40-1-2) will still need to sweep the front-running Kelowna Rockets (51-13-4-1) in a home-and-home weekend set to grab the eighth and final playoff spot out of the Western Conference.
Taran Kozun stopped 21 shots in the Seattle net for the victory, and Mathew Barzal had two assists for the winners, including this beauty.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/18/highlight-reel-helper-from-barzal-helps-seattle-win-and-keeps-giants-whl-playoff-push-going/feed/0Seattle Thunderbirds v Kelowna RocketssteveewenWHL Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton contemplating resting veterans for final regular season games with Giantshttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/17/whl-rockets-gm-bruce-hamilton-contemplating-resting-veterans-for-final-regular-season-games-with-giants/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/17/whl-rockets-gm-bruce-hamilton-contemplating-resting-veterans-for-final-regular-season-games-with-giants/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 01:38:35 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=183359With the Western Conference title long ago assured, will the Kelowna Rockets rest some veterans for this weekend’s home-and-home series with the Vancouver Giants?
Maybe.
Kelowna general manager Bruce Hamilton said Tuesday afternoon that he was undecided on what his …]]>With the Western Conference title long ago assured, will the Kelowna Rockets rest some veterans for this weekend’s home-and-home series with the Vancouver Giants?
Maybe.
Kelowna general manager Bruce Hamilton said Tuesday afternoon that he was undecided on what his club might do with its roster. On his to-do list before he decided was speaking to Scott Bonner, the general manager of the Giants, about what type of line-up Vancouver might dress.
Definition? If Vancouver goes young, Kelowna will likely go young. Hamilton isn’t about to go with a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds if Bonner plans to counter with an older group, at the risk of them being manhandled.
On the flip side, the Rockets lost then team captain Colton Sissons to an upper body injury in the second-to-last regular season game in 2013 to a last-place Vancouver team.
Sissons, a forward, had 28 goals for a Kelowna team that won a then franchise-record 52 games in the regular season. He was picked as the team’s valuable player.
He didn’t play a playoff game and Kelowna lost in the second round to the Kamloops Blazers.
The line-up Bonner dresses will be tied to whether Vancouver is still in the hunt for the playoffs. The Giants need the Tri-City Americans to lose to the Seattle Thunderbirds Tuesday and the Kamloops Blazers to lose to the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday to still be in contention for the eighth and final playoff spot when the Rockets come to town Friday.]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/17/whl-rockets-gm-bruce-hamilton-contemplating-resting-veterans-for-final-regular-season-games-with-giants/feed/0Portland Winterhawks v Kelowna RocketssteveewenWHL Giants blanked again: shut out by Victoria marks 10th time in 2015 Vancouver fails to scorehttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/15/whl-giants-blanked-again-shut-out-by-victoria-marks-10th-time-in-2015-vancouver-fails-to-score/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/15/whl-giants-blanked-again-shut-out-by-victoria-marks-10th-time-in-2015-vancouver-fails-to-score/#commentsSun, 15 Mar 2015 16:31:09 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=183115When the Vancouver Giants had the worst win-loss record in the country in 2012-13, they were shut out nine times.
Saturday, they were blanked for the 10th time in the 2015 calendar year and the 14th time this season, falling …]]>When the Vancouver Giants had the worst win-loss record in the country in 2012-13, they were shut out nine times.
Saturday, they were blanked for the 10th time in the 2015 calendar year and the 14th time this season, falling this time 3-0 to the host Victoria Royals.
It was also the second goose egg in as many days to the Royals and the fifth in what’s now a nine-game losing streak.
The franchise record for consecutive losses is 10, set in their inaugural 2001-02 season. That was before the shoot-out came into effect; Vancouver was winless in its final 20 games that season, but that included three ties after overtime.
The 2002-03 season also didn’t feature shoot-outs and Vancouver went winless in its final 13 starts, with the only point coming from a single tie.
Vancouver plays in Victoria today at 1:05 p.m.
With three games remaining, the Giants (26-40-1-2) are six points behind the Tri-City Americans (29-36-0-3) for the eighth and final playoff spot out of the Western Conference. Tri-City has a game in hand.
The math isn’t in Vancouver’s favour one bit.
Cody Porter was solid again in the Vancouver net, making 27 saves.
Vancouver finishes the regular season next weekend with a home-and-home against the Kelowna Rockets.
Vancouver finished 21-49-2-0 in 2012-13. Their longest losing streak was seven games, with another going six games.
The Giants finished 32-29-7-4 last season and lost in four straight in the first round of the playoffs to the Portland Winterhawks.
They had an eight-game losing streak in the 2010-11 season, but still wound up 35-32-1-4 this campaign.]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/15/whl-giants-blanked-again-shut-out-by-victoria-marks-10th-time-in-2015-vancouver-fails-to-score/feed/010659012steveewenWHL Giants are better again, but still not good enough to win; fall 3-1 to Everetthttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/07/whl-giants-are-better-again-but-still-not-good-enough-to-win-fall-3-1-to-everett/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/07/whl-giants-are-better-again-but-still-not-good-enough-to-win-fall-3-1-to-everett/#commentsSun, 08 Mar 2015 06:59:07 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=182181The Vancouver Giants seem headed in the right direction – but have they run out of time to get to anywhere meaningful?

The Giants followed up Friday’s spirited 5-2 loss to the Kelowna Rockets with another feisty effort Saturday, this …

]]>

The Vancouver Giants seem headed in the right direction – but have they run out of time to get to anywhere meaningful?

The Giants followed up Friday’s spirited 5-2 loss to the Kelowna Rockets with another feisty effort Saturday, this time falling 3-1 to the Everett Silvertips before a crowd of 5,871 at the Pacific Coliseum.

It was Vancouver’s sixth straight defeat, but their give-a-damn metre reading was much better than it was in their mid-week 7-0 and 3-0 road losses to Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans.

With six games left, Vancouver (26-37-1-2) is four points in back of the Tri-City Americans (28-35-0-3) for the second of two wildcard playoff spots in the WHL’s Western Conference. The top three teams in both the B.C. and U.S. Divisions advance to the postseason, along with the two next-best records.

The Kamloops Blazers (25-34-4-3) are between the Giants and Americans, two points in front of Vancouver. The Prince George Cougars (28-33-2-3) are third in B.C., six points ahead of Vancouver.

On Saturday, the Americans lost 6-2 to the Portland Winterhawks, while the Blazers fell 3-1 to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Prince George mustered up a point in a 4-3 shoot-out loss to the Victoria Royals.

“The next step for us really is getting rest. That’s the first thing,” said Giants coach Claude Noel, whose team played its sixth game in nine nights with the Everett contest. “We have to rest, we have to recover. We have to focus on a decent practice on Monday and pour everything we have into Tuesday and deal with Spokane (who visit Vancouver).

“We’re going to have to pour everything into Tuesday and where that goes who knows? You’re running out of time. You’re running out of games.

“We have to find a way to find some positives and to build the group up. When it goes like this, nothing seems to go right. There doesn’t seem to be anything good in your world. There’s a lot we have to be thankful for. We have to build on some positives.”

Vancouver rookie sensation Tyler Benson put the Giants on the scoreboard at 7:52 of the first Saturday, intercepting a pass, splitting the defence and rifling a high shot past Everett goaltender Carter Hart.

The Silvertips tied it up at 1:39 of the second, Remi Laurencelle tallying.

Vancouver was better in the first and second than they were in the third, and the winner came at 1:39 of the final frame, with Cole MacDonald’s point shot beating Vancouver’s Payton Lee through a screen on a power play. Everett ended up on the man advantage via an offensive zone hooking penalty from Matt Bellerive.

Matt Fonteyne added an insurance marker at 6:21 of the third, jumping on a puck in front of the net and tucking it past Lee. Vancouver’s Brennan Menell, Josh Thrower and Thomas Foster seemed to lose control of the front of the net on the play.

Vancouver played much of the game short a forward. Centre Vladimir Bobylev left the contest with a lower body injury after a late hit from Logan Aasman. He was seen limping around the Giants dressing room area after the game. He’ll be re-evaluated over the next couple of days.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/07/whl-giants-are-better-again-but-still-not-good-enough-to-win-fall-3-1-to-everett/feed/010372417steveewenJackson Houck, Dmitry Osipov shine in Giants’ entertaining 5-2 loss to Rocketshttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/07/jackson-houck-dmitry-osipov-shine-in-giants-entertaining-5-2-loss-to-rockets/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/07/jackson-houck-dmitry-osipov-shine-in-giants-entertaining-5-2-loss-to-rockets/#commentsSat, 07 Mar 2015 14:51:12 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=182110With more efforts like they turned in Friday night, the Vancouver Giants wouldn’t be worrying about making the playoffs. They would have qualified already and likely have home-ice advantage, too.

The Giants dropped a 5-2 decision to the WHL-leading Kelowna …

]]>With more efforts like they turned in Friday night, the Vancouver Giants wouldn’t be worrying about making the playoffs. They would have qualified already and likely have home-ice advantage, too.

The Giants dropped a 5-2 decision to the WHL-leading Kelowna Rockets, but the scoreline is deceiving. It felt more like a 3-2 game for the majority of the night. The first and third periods, in particular, were among the most entertaining stanzas played the Pacific Coliseum all season and the game was a stark contrast to the Giants’ efforts earlier in the week, when they lost 7-0 in Spokane and 3-0 visiting Tri-City on consecutive nights.

The loss, coupled with the Prince George Cougars’ 4-3 win over the Victoria Royals dropped the Giants (26-36-1-2) four points in back of Prince George (25-33-4-3) for the third and final playoff spot out of the B.C. Division. The Kamloops Blazers (25-33-4-3) are now between the Giants and Cougars as well, two points ahead of Vancouver.
All the teams have seven games remaining. Vancouver starts that string tonight, taking on the Everett Silvertips (39-19-3-4) at home.
Friday’s game turned on Vancouver when overage forward Zane Jones was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct for a heavy collision with Kelowna defenceman Devante Stephens near the penalty boxes at 4:01 of the third period.
Stephens needed assistance from the Rockets training staff, but returned to the game.
Five years ago, it wouldn’t have been a penalty. With all the worries about concussion, that type of call has become the norm. Giants coach Claude Noel wasn’t happy with it, though.
Vancouver’s Thomas Foster actually scored 35 seconds into Jones’ penalty, making the score 1-1, but Kelowna quickly bagged a pair with the extra man to take the game over.
“I thought we played a hard game. I thought we were engaged in the game,” said Noel. “I thought we did the things necessary to win. It was an unfortunate five-minute major … I didn’t see it as intentional contact. I see the boarding call.
“The guy kind of turned at the last second. It looked like it was going to be an OK hit. Everybody thought so. And then ‘boom.’ I understand it. It looked like the guy might have been seriously hurt.
“It looks like the way they want to keep things tight.”
Right winger Jackson Houck and defenceman Dmitry Osipov had amongst their best performances of the season for Vancouver. Houck was physical all night, and wound up with a goal and an assist.
Osipov was also a force. Of note, his big hit on Kelowna forward Gage Quinney in Kelowna territory in the first period led Rockets forward Rodney Southam challenging the Russian to a scrap, and they had a raucous bout.
It was the third fight of Osipov’s two-year WHL career. It was the 16th in two seasons for Southam, including his 11 this season.
“It’s a good hit. A pretty clear hit for me, and he wants to jump me. If wants to, OK, I can do it, too,” explained Osipov, who was sporting a cut on the bridge of his nose after the game.
The Giant bench went bonkers afterwards, particularly Osipov’s regular defence partner Mason Geertsen. They’re close friends away from the rink.
“Whole team was laughing, saying, ‘Good job, good job,'” explained Osipov.
Tyrell Goulbourne had three goals for the Rockets.
Kelowna was missing defenceman Josh Morrissey and forward Rourke Chartier to undisclosed injuries. Chartier ended up on the scoresheet, but was a late scratch, meaning that Kelowna played the game one forward short.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/07/jackson-houck-dmitry-osipov-shine-in-giants-entertaining-5-2-loss-to-rockets/feed/010232964steveewenWHL Giants miss chance to jump back into playoff spot and by large margin, falling 7-0 in Spokanehttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/04/whl-giants-miss-chance-to-jump-back-into-playoff-spot-and-by-large-margin-falling-7-0-in-spokane/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/04/whl-giants-miss-chance-to-jump-back-into-playoff-spot-and-by-large-margin-falling-7-0-in-spokane/#commentsWed, 04 Mar 2015 18:17:03 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=181614The Vancouver Giants’ game in hand got out of hand quickly.
The Giants went into a Tuesday visit against the Spokane Chiefs trailing the Prince George Cougars by one point for the third and final playoff spot directly out of …]]>The Vancouver Giants’ game in hand got out of hand quickly.
The Giants went into a Tuesday visit against the Spokane Chiefs trailing the Prince George Cougars by one point for the third and final playoff spot directly out of the B.C. Division and two points in back of the Tri-City Americans for the second of two wildcard spots out of the Western Conference.
Prince George and Tri-City had both played one more game than Vancouver going into Tuesday.
Vancouver made that game up against Spokane, and were demolished by a 7-0 count.
Vancouver (26-34-1-2) continues to trail Prince George (26-33-2-2) and Tri-City (27-33-0-3), with nine games remaining for all three teams. Vancouver visits Tri-City tonight.
On Tuesday, Adam Helewka led Spokane with three goals and one assist. It was his second career hat trick in the WHL. Both have come against the Giants.
Defencemen Josh Thrower, Brennan Menell and Clayton Kirichenko and forwards Zane Jones and Dakota Odgers were all minus-three for Vancouver. Cody Porter went the distance in the Giants’ net, making 37 saves.
Defenceman Shaun Dosanjh (upper body) played his first game since Dec. 30. Fellow blueliner Arvin Atwal, who had played the previous four games, was scratched.
Vancouver is home again Friday, facing the Kelowna Rockets.]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/04/whl-giants-miss-chance-to-jump-back-into-playoff-spot-and-by-large-margin-falling-7-0-in-spokane/feed/010833479steveewenWHL Giants back chasing a playoff position after losing to Hay and Blazers Saturdayhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/01/whl-giants-back-chasing-a-playoff-position-after-losing-to-hay-and-blazers-saturday/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/01/whl-giants-back-chasing-a-playoff-position-after-losing-to-hay-and-blazers-saturday/#commentsSun, 01 Mar 2015 17:17:55 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=181008The Vancouver Giants’ season is back in harm’s way.
The Giants’ 6-3 loss on the road to the Kamloops Blazers Saturday night, coupled with the Prince George Cougars’ 5-1 win against the host Everett Silvertips, kicked the Giants out of …]]>

The Vancouver Giants’ season is back in harm’s way.
The Giants’ 6-3 loss on the road to the Kamloops Blazers Saturday night, coupled with the Prince George Cougars’ 5-1 win against the host Everett Silvertips, kicked the Giants out of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining in their regular season.

Prince George (26-33-2-2) is now one point up on the Giants (26-33-1-2) for the third and final playoff spot directly out of the B.C. Division, while the Blazers (24-33-3-3) are one point in back of Vancouver.

The Giants do have a game in hand on both teams.

If things weren’t close enough, the Giants trail the Tri-City Americans (27-33-0-3) by two points for the second of two wildcard spots out of the Western Conference. The top three teams in the B.C. and U.S. Divisions make the postseason, along with the two next best records.

The Giants also have a game in hand on Tri-City.

Vancouver, losers in three of their past four, visit the Spokane Chiefs Tuesday and the Americans on Wednesday.

The biggest issue for the Giants? The Blazers and Cougars play each other four times the last 10 days of the season, which Vancouver winds up league play with a home-and-home with the powerhouse Kelowna Rockets.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/03/01/whl-giants-back-chasing-a-playoff-position-after-losing-to-hay-and-blazers-saturday/feed/0HayzersteveewenRockets, missing sniper and world junior d man, still handle WHL Giantshttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/02/28/rockets-missing-sniper-and-world-junior-d-man-still-handle-whl-giants/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/02/28/rockets-missing-sniper-and-world-junior-d-man-still-handle-whl-giants/#commentsSat, 28 Feb 2015 08:20:31 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=180868There are nights where you watch the Vancouver Giants and seem certain they could win a playoff round. And then there evenings where you see them and doubt afterwards that they will qualify for the WHL postseason at all.

Friday …

]]>There are nights where you watch the Vancouver Giants and seem certain they could win a playoff round. And then there evenings where you see them and doubt afterwards that they will qualify for the WHL postseason at all.

Friday was closer to the latter.

The Kelowna Rockets played one skater under the regular 18 maximum due to injuries. They had seven scratches from their line-up, including 46-goal man Rourke Chartier, power forward Justin Kirkland and Canadian world junior team defenceman Josh Morrissey. They were all sitting out with undisclosed injuries.

The Rockets still managed to dominate a Vancouver club fighting for its playoff life at the Pacific Coliseum, coming away with a 4-0 win.

Vancouver lacked the bite, the gumption, to push back against the Rockets on the night. Tyler Benson was a buzzsaw. Mason Geertsen laid out a couple of big, booming body checks, including one that sent Kelowna star winger Nick Merkley flying. Zane Jones had some moments.

And that was about it for good news for the Giants.

The Giants’ loss, coupled with the Prince George Cougars 5-4 overtime win versus the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Kamloops Blazers’ 4-2 triumph over the Victoria Royals leaves the Giants (26-32-1-2) one point up on the Cougars (25-33-2-2) and three up on the Blazers (23-33-3-3) in the race for the third and final playoff spot directly of the B.C. Division. Vancouver has a game in hand on both the Cougars and Blazers.

The top three teams in both the B.C. and U.S. Divisions make the playoffs, along with the two next-best records in the Western Conference. Vancouver is two points behind the injury-riddled Tri-City Americans (27-32-0-3) for the second of the two wildcard spots, with a game in hand.

Vancouver is in Kamloops Saturday. It will be interesting to see who Giants coach Claude Noel starts in goal. Payton Lee got the hook early in the second period on Friday after giving up two goals on 10 shots. Cody Porter ended up allowing two goals on 15 shots.

It was a fifth straight start for Lee, who was coming off a stellar 33-save effort in a 1-0 win over Kamloops at home last Saturday.

There’s a school of thought that Noel hooked Lee early because he wanted him ready for Kamloops Saturday.

Vancouver is 3-2-0-2 against the Blazers this season so far. Lee has a 2-2-0-0 record, to go with a 1.19 goals against average and a .960 save percentage. Porter is 1-0-0-2, with a 2.91 goals against and a .914 save percentage.

Noel, on pulling Lee: “I thought the goals were OK. I didn’t think the second one was that strong. I just thought he wasn’t moving side to side. I don’t know if you could fault Payton. I didn’t like the third goal.”

More Noel: “We’ve scored one goal in two games. We’re not a high offensive team. We need to work and we need to get everybody going to get stuff going. And we have to defend. Tonight, we gave them a couple of opportunities that were in the net.”

Still more Noel: “To me, we weren’t competing hard enough. That’s one of the issues that I had. I don’t judge it from the shots. We didn’t do the things necessary in the hard areas to give us a chance to win.”

Goaltender Michael Herringer stopped all 29 shots in the Kelowna net. Gage Quinney had a goal and two assists for the Rockets (48-10-3-1), while Leon Draisaitl, Dillon Dube, and Rodney Southam also tallied.

The Vancouver Giants sophomore winger, who missed the first three months of the WHL season after breaking …

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Former Giants goalie Jackson Whistle is Kelowna’s starter, but hasn’t played since Feb. 6 due to an appendectomy. (Getty Images File.)

It looks like Ty Ronning will get power-play time against the Kelowna Rockets Friday night at the Pacific Coliseum (7:30 p.m., TSN 1410).

The Vancouver Giants sophomore winger, who missed the first three months of the WHL season after breaking his collar bone in a preseason contest, was skating with the Vancouver’s No. 2 man-advantage unit at practice on Thursday. He was teaming up front with Jackson Houck and Zane Jones. Clayton Kirichenko and Arvin Atwal were on the points.

The first unit featured Carter Popoff, Thomas Foster and Tyler Benson, along with Mason Geertsen and Brennan Menell.

At 5-on-5, Ronning was with Popoff and Benson, while Houck, Foster and Jakob Stukel were together. You would think those would be the Giants’ top two lines.

The Giants’ line-up could be changing, though. The team has been hit by the flu bug. Defenceman Josh Thrower and winger Alec Baer both skipped practice on Thursday. Baer also missed on Wednesday.

With 12 games to go, the Giants (26-31-1-2) are fighting for a playoff spot. The Rockets (47-10-3-1) have the league’s top record.

The smart yet diminutive Ronning, the 15th overall pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, has struggled numbers wise since his return. He has one assist in 15 games and sports a minus-16 rating. He was getting top-six ice time down the stretch last season under former coach Don Hay. He finished his rookie campaign with nine goals and 20 points in 56 games.

Ronning was a healthy scratch for three straight games under coach Claude Noel before playing the past two. He was one of the better Giants in the 1-0 win on Saturday over Hay and the Kamloops Blazers.

Overage winger Matt Bellerive (ill) skated in a regular jersey on Thursday, rather than a yellow non-contact one, but he didn’t take part in the power-play drills. They may give him another weekend off. He’s missed the past 11 games.

Vancouver will miss another of their three 20 year olds for the remainder of the regular season at the very least. Centre Dalton Sward, the team captain, had surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand on Thursday. He’s expected to be sidelined at least six weeks.

The Rockets are battling injuries as well. Kelowna had just 10 healthy forwards and 17 skaters overall in a 4-2 win over Victoria on Wednesday. They were missing sniper Rourke Chartier and Tomas Soustal to undisclosed injuries.

Goaltender Jackson Whistle, the former Giant, has been recovering from an appendectomy on Feb. 7.

We’re talking yesterday morning about how they’re struggling on the road. This morning, we get to talk about how they won in one of the rinks they traditionally have trouble, the home of …

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Claude Noel’s Vancouver Giants are back into a playoff position. (Province Files.)

They’re a funny team, these Vancouver Giants.

We’re talking yesterday morning about how they’re struggling on the road. This morning, we get to talk about how they won in one of the rinks they traditionally have trouble, the home of the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash.

Vancouver bounced Tri-City 6-2 Saturday night, marking their first regulation time win their since a 3-1 triumph on Dec. 13, 2008. Their previous last regular season victory there of any sort was a 5-4 shoot-out win on Valentine’s Day, 2012.

All told, over the last five years, the Americans are 7-1-0-1 at home against the Giants.

Vancouver’s back in a playoff spot this morning, holding down third spot in the B.C. Division. The Giants (24-30-1-2) are one point up on both the Prince George Cougars (23-32-2-2) and the Kamloops Blazers (22-30-3-3), with two games in hand on P.G. and one on Kamloops. Vancouver has 15 regular season games remaining.

The Cougars, who were scuffling, picked up points in a third straight game Saturday with a 3-2 overtime over the host Red Deer Rebels. The Blazers, meanwhile, fell 5-2 at home to the Kamloops Blazers.

Against Tri-City, Vancouver got goals from six different players highlighted by Zane Jones with his 27th of the campaign.

Alec Baer, with his 12th, and Carter Popoff, with his 23rd, staked Vancouver to a 2-0 lead. Jackson Houck, with his 18th, and Clayton Kirichenko, with his fourth, made it 4-1. Gage
Ramsay, with his second, and Jones nixed any thoughts of a Tri-City comeback after the Americans made it 4-2 with a goal on Payton Lee on the first shift of the third period.

Vancouver returns to action Wednesday, with a special noon start at the Pacific Coliseum against the Moose Jaw Warriors (22-30-3-1). Kamloops is at the Kelowna Rockets (44-9-3-1) that night, while Prince George wraps up their four-game Alberta road swing a with a day game tomorrow versus the Edmonton Oil Kings (25-26-4-2).

Red Deer Rebels defenceman Austin Strand nailed Ronning, the second-year Vancouver Giants winger, with a questionable knee-on-knee check at the Red Deer blueline with just shy of three minutes to go in Friday’s tilt at …

]]>Ty Ronning got his revenge.

Red Deer Rebels defenceman Austin Strand nailed Ronning, the second-year Vancouver Giants winger, with a questionable knee-on-knee check at the Red Deer blueline with just shy of three minutes to go in Friday’s tilt at the Pacific Coliseum.

After getting checked on by trainer Nick Murray, Ronning went to the bench. He scored the game winner on the ensuing five-minute power play, redirecting a Tyler Benson feed from the left side at 19:02 of the third period to send Vancouver off on a 5-4 triumph.

It was the first goal of the season for Ronning, who was playing just his 10th game. Ronning suffered a collar bone injury in the preseason and only returned to the Vancouver line-up on Jan. 9.

It was the first win in five games and second in 11 for the Giants (21-28-1-2), who moved to within one point of the Kamloops Blazers (20-28-3-3) for third spot in the B.C. Division. Kamloops lost 5-3 to the Kelowna Rockets on Friday.
“I saw Benny with a burst of speed, with Foz (Thomas Foster), and we were looking at video this morning of a shot-tip-pass and I thought that right away,” said Ronning, who went with an elaborate, exaggerated right-arm windmill for his goal celebration.

“I was lucky enough to get a stick on it.”

And Ronning explained the Strand hit this way: “I looked up and thought, ‘Ah, he’s coming. I’d better move.’ He clipped me there. Dirty? I’d say so. But it’s also hockey, You just try to get back in there and get a goal, and I did.”

It was a game that Vancouver could have easily given up. They weren’t very good defensively. They were sloppy in their own zone. And goaltender Cody Porter has had better nights.

Vancouver still managed to rally from 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 deficits against Red Deer (28-16-3-5).

Coach Claude Noel explained: “We talked about earning the win and playing the right way, and I thought we did that collectively as a group and we hadn’t seen that in awhile.”

As for Ronning and his goal, Noel said: “It does a lot for him. He’s probably been pretty frustrated. He’s been able to create plays with that threesome, with Benson and (Carter) Popoff. He takes a hit and comes back in and gets a good goal, It was a great play and one that will bring more relief than you can imagine.”

Ronning added: “Confidence wise, I think I am focusing on winning. I want to win. One day I want to win a Memorial Cup. I was in a slump, for sure. I’m not worrying about points, though. I’m about the team. Team first mentality, for sure.”

Alec Baer and Zane Jones both had a goal and an assist for the Giants. Jackson Houck and Clayton Kirichenko had the other goals for Vancouver. Porter finished with 27 saves.

Wyatt Johnson had a goal and an assist for Red Deer.

Vancouver is at Seattle on Saturday.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/02/07/rebels-knock-down-ronning-and-then-he-makes-sure-giants-take-rebels-down-for-count/feed/0vapr_20140321_final_a45_01_i001steveewenDoes the schedule down the stretch aid the playoff chances for the WHL Giants? Maybe yes, maybe nohttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/02/01/does-the-schedule-down-the-stretch-aid-the-playoff-chances-for-the-whl-giants-maybe-yes-maybe-no/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/02/01/does-the-schedule-down-the-stretch-aid-the-playoff-chances-for-the-whl-giants-maybe-yes-maybe-no/#commentsSun, 01 Feb 2015 20:24:38 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=177799The Vancouver Giants are in harm’s way when it comes to making the WHL playoffs. Whether the schedule down the stretch is in their favour depends on how you look at it.
Vancouver’s 3-2 shoot-out loss to the Kamloops Blazers …]]>

The Vancouver Giants are in harm’s way when it comes to making the WHL playoffs. Whether the schedule down the stretch is in their favour depends on how you look at it.
Vancouver’s 3-2 shoot-out loss to the Kamloops Blazers on home ice Saturday left the Giants (20-28-1-2) three points in back of the Blazers (20-26-3-3) for the third playoff spot in the B.C. Division, with the Prince George Cougars (20-31-1-1) one point behind Vancouver.

Vancouver has one game in hand on Kamloops and two on Prince George.

The top three teams in B.C. and the U.S. Division make the Western Conference playoffs, along with the next two best records. It feels like that ship has sailed for the wildcard spots for the Giants and their provincial compatriots, considering Kamloops is five points in back of the Tri-City Americans (24-24-0-3) for what amounts to the eighth and final playoff spot, and Tri-City has a game in hand on Kamloops.

Kamloops has 20 games remaining and four of them come against the Cougars.

You could argue they’ll take turns knocking each other off, which will be a benefit for the Giants. Or, with the way things have gone for Vancouver of late, they will probably have four shoot-out games and both teams will walk away with points on each night, much to the chagrin of the Giants.

The Giants have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and nine of 10 (1-8-1). They finished the 2014 calendar with points in nine of 10 (8-1-1) and they somehow followed that up by going 3-9-2 in January.

Vancouver’s remaining 21 games includes four against the front-running Kelowna Rockets (39-8-3-1), a pair versus the second-place Everett Silvertips (31-15-3-1) and one versus the third-place Portland Winterhawks (31-19-0-3). They meet Kamloops twice. They’re done the season series with Prince George.

Kamloops has five with Kelowna. They’re finished with Everett and Portland.

Prince George’s 19 games include one each with Kelowna, Portland and Everett. They also have an Alberta road trip remaining and they get the Medicine Hat Tigers (35-12-1-2) and the Calgary Hitmen (29-17-1-4) on that jaunt east.

On Saturday, Tyler Benson, with his 12th, and Zane Jones, with his 24th, scored for Vancouver in regulation. Cole Ully and Jake Kryski both tallied for Kamloops in the shoot-out, while Benson and Jones were stymied by Blazer goalie Connor Ingram.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/02/01/does-the-schedule-down-the-stretch-aid-the-playoff-chances-for-the-whl-giants-maybe-yes-maybe-no/feed/010372417steveewenThe Morning Skate, Dec. 4: WHL Rockets turn to men’s league goalie, Bo shouldn’t go and 76ers conjure up memories of Grizzhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/12/04/the-morning-skate-dec-4-whl-rockets-turn-to-mens-league-goalie-bo-shouldnt-go-and-76ers-conjure-up-memories-of-grizz/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/12/04/the-morning-skate-dec-4-whl-rockets-turn-to-mens-league-goalie-bo-shouldnt-go-and-76ers-conjure-up-memories-of-grizz/#commentsThu, 04 Dec 2014 17:22:21 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=172344Sam Bobyn will have a tale to tell when he returns to guarding the net in a Kelowna men’s hockey league later this week.

]]>Sam Bobyn will have a tale to tell when he returns to guarding the net in a Kelowna men’s hockey league later this week.

With undisclosed injuries shelving starting goalie Jackson Whistle and third stringer Michael Herringer, the WHL leading Kelowna Rockets called in Bobyn, 18, from his rec loop to act as an emergency back-up to No. 2 man Jake Morrissey for their Wednesday tilt against the Saskatoon Blades.

Dan Lambert, head coach of the Kelowna Rockets, was down to his fourth string goalie by the end of action on Wednesday. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

Apparently Morrissey missed a memo. He was tossed from the game with 11 minutes to go for scrapping with Saskatoon goalie Nik Amundrud.

Bobyn, who played midget last year in Kelowna and is the son of Rockets doctor Mike Bobyn, stopped the only two shots he faced in a 5-1 victory.

Kelowna coach Dan Lambert made no secret that he wasn’t pleased with Morrissey, telling reporters afterwards, “I’m very disappointed with his decision.”

He added: “I don’t think the league takes it very lightly when goalies meet in the middle and go at it. I’m sure there will be a fine.”

It wasn’t an absurdly testy affair, with the teams winding up with a combined 112 minutes in penalties. All heck broke loose at the 8:40 mark of the third, though, when Kelowna sniper Nick Merkley levelled Saskatoon’s Nikita Soshin with a check the Blades felt was questionable.

Lambert did say he thinks Whistle, who has appeared in 23 of Kelowna’s 29 games so far, or Herringer will be ready to go for the Rockets’ next game, a Friday contest with the visiting Prince George Cougars.

That will give Bobyn some time to focus on other things, like maybe the rest of the Morning Skate.

Willie Desjardins was up for the Penguins’ coaching job before taking the Canucks. Mike Johnston, a onetime Canuck assistant who was being considered for the Vancouver post, ended up with the Pittsburgh job.

It’s long, but a great retrospective look from Red Fisher at Jean Beliveau. Fisher would know — he covered practically the entire career of the big centreman. (Did you know he was asked to become Governor-General in 1994?)

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/12/04/the-morning-skate-dec-4-whl-rockets-turn-to-mens-league-goalie-bo-shouldnt-go-and-76ers-conjure-up-memories-of-grizz/feed/0Vancouver Canucks v Detroit Red WingssteveewenDan Lambert, head coach of the Kelowna Rockets, was down to his fourth string by the end of action on Wednesday. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)During the 1990-91 season, Petr Nedved of the Vancouver Canucks looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. ( Rick Stewart/Allsport.)crosbyscoresThrower, The Sequel: WHL Giants land brother of last year’s captain in trade with Tri (with videos)http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/21/thrower-the-sequel-whl-giants-land-brother-of-last-years-captain-in-trade-with-tri-with-videos/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/21/thrower-the-sequel-whl-giants-land-brother-of-last-years-captain-in-trade-with-tri-with-videos/#commentsFri, 21 Nov 2014 22:39:41 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=171047Frustrated by his team’s lack of gumption, Vancouver Giants Scott Bonner continued to do something about it Friday.

Bonner followed up trading for rugged winger Dakota Odgers on Thursday by dealing for equally rugged defenceman Josh Thrower on Friday.

Frustrated by his team’s lack of gumption, Vancouver Giants Scott Bonner continued to do something about it Friday.

Bonner followed up trading for rugged winger Dakota Odgers on Thursday by dealing for equally rugged defenceman Josh Thrower on Friday.

Vancouver is a pedestrian 9-13-0-0. New coach Troy Ward has managed to implement the puck-possession style that Bonner and owner Ron Toigo talked up over the summer, but the Giants’ inability to win puck battles and to have success on the road (2-8-0-0 record) has been readily apparent.

The pick is the one the Giants received from Tri-City in the August, 2013, deal that sent then 17-year-old left winger Taylor Vickerman to the Americans.

Thrower will wear No. 47, the same jersey his brother sported last year while manning the blueline with Vancouver. It had belonged to Russian rookie forward Vladimir Bobylev; he’s now wearing No. 32.

Thrower, a Squamish native, is expeced to be in Vancouver’s line-up tonight when the Regina Pats visit, as is Odgers and winger Tyler Benson (upper body), who has missed the past four games with an injury he picked up during the Under-17 world challenge. He missed five games as well being away at the tournament.

Vancouver tried to land Josh Thrower last season, after he left the Calgary Hitmen over an apparent dispute with then coach Mike Williamson. Calgary sent him to Tri-City instead.

There were rumours about Vancouver being willing to offer a first-round bantam pick to Calgary and Hitmen instead wanting defenceman Brett Kulak. The Hitmen ended up getting then 19-year-old forward Connor Rankin from Calgary in the deal.

Sure enough, over the summer, Williamson was fired by Calgary and hired by Tri-City.

Josh Thrower, contacted on his drive to Vancouver Friday, says that he hopes to play up to the level that his brother played in Vancouver and admitted, “there’s quite a bit of pressure.”

Even though he missed a chunk of his one season in Vancouver with an ankle injury, Dalton Thrower was one of the most complete defenceman the Giants had ever had. He was very much a top-pairing guy.

Is Josh there yet? It would be unfair to expect that, especially since he’s two years younger than Dalton was last season. And history says he doesn’t have the same offensive flair just yet.

As well, Tri-City has a highly regarded 2015 NHL draft prospect Brandon Carlo on its blueline.

In 122 career regular season games in the WHL, Josh has three goals and 11 assists, to go along with 157 PIMs. He was passed over in the NHL draft, although he did skate with the Vancouver Canucks in their prospects tournament in Penticton.

Dalton, a 2012 second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, had 42 goals and 105 assists in 285 WHL regular season games. He also had 414 PIMs.

Josh Thrower should fit in right away with the Giants. He’s a former roommate of Payton Lee; they both went to Pursuit of Excellence for bantam. He worked out in the summers under the guidance of Ian Gallagher, and he skated in the summers with a group that included Jackson Houck, Arvin Atwal and Matt Bellerive.

He will make the Giants harder to play. That’s a certainty. The 6-foot-1, 201 pounder is that type of guy.

Check out his fight with Kelowna Rockets tough guy Tyrell Goulbourne. It went viral on YouTube, so much so that Thrower says, “people will meet me, find out who I am, and they’ll ask about that fight. I’m known for that fight. It’s weird. It was just heat of the moment.”

Young wingers Tyler Benson and Jakob Stukel didn’t join their teammates for the bus ride to Prince George on Monday, but …

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This is Matt Bellerive of the Blazers shooting on Jared Rathjen of the Giants last year. They could be at it again Tuesday, except Bellerive is with the Giants now and Rathjen is with the Cougars.(Getty Images File.)

Vancouver Giants general manager Scott Bonner remained hopeful Monday that reinforcements are coming soon for his floundering WHL club.

Young wingers Tyler Benson and Jakob Stukel didn’t join their teammates for the bus ride to Prince George on Monday, but Bonner says the two could get cleared by team medical staff in time to be a part of the mid-week doubleheader against the host Cougars.

The Giants (8-12-0-0) visit the Cougars (11-11-0-0) at the CN Centre in Prince George on both Tuesday (7 p.m., TSN 1410) and Wednesday (7 p.m., TSN 1410). Benson (upper body) and Stukel (hand) could fly in if they’re OK’d by Giants doctors.

Vancouver could use some sort of boost from some where. They have lost four of five and eight of 10.

Benson, 16, the first overall pick in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, was hurt taking part in the Under-17 world challenge tournament in Sarnia, Ont., and has sat out the past two games because of it. Including his time at the tournament, he’s missed seven straight Giants games.

He leads Vancouver in plus-minus (plus-eight), to go along with three goals and eight assists in 12 games.

Stukel, 17, a 2012 second rounder who missed all of last season with knee trouble, was hurt in the second game of this year and hasn’t played since. He did take the warm-up prior to Vancouver’s 7-5 loss at home to the Victoria Royals on Saturday.

Stukel has two assists this season.

Defenceman Ryely McKinstry (upper body) left Saturday’s game against Victoria after one shift. The 16-year-old won’t play in Prince George, according to Bonner.

Prince George comes into Tuesday having lost three straight. That stint included the first start of the season for overage goalie Jared Rathjen, a former Giant who was picked up by Prince George after being put on waivers by the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Rathjen gave up five goals on 35 shots in a 6-3 loss to the Kelowna Rockets on Friday.

Vancouver dealt Rathjen to Medicine Hat in June for a conditional fifth-round bantam pick in 2015, as part a bid to get down to the league maximum three 20 year olds. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Prince George native was 13-8-4-1, with a 2.98 goals against and a .898 save percentage for Vancouver in 2013-14.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/17/whl-giants-could-have-benson-stukel-back-to-face-prince-george-cougars-could-have-ex-giant-rathjen-in-goal/feed/0steveewenThis is Matt Bellerive of the Blazers shooting on Jared Rathjen of the Giants last year. They could be at it again Tuesday, except Bellerive is with the GIant and Rathjen is with the Cougars. (Getty Images.)WHL Giants Scott Bonner: “I would really like to see our full team for a bit to know exactly what we’ve got.”http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/09/whl-giants-scott-bonner-i-would-really-like-to-see-our-full-team-for-a-bit-to-know-exactly-what-weve-got/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/09/whl-giants-scott-bonner-i-would-really-like-to-see-our-full-team-for-a-bit-to-know-exactly-what-weve-got/#commentsMon, 10 Nov 2014 00:00:55 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=169715Vancouver Giants general manager Scott Bonner is playing the patience card with the team’s 7-11-0-0 start.

Asked about possible trades to get the team out of the doldrums, Bonner seemed steadfast Sunday about sticking with the current group.

“I’m not too worried about the record yet, considering we’ve faced a ‘Murderers’ Row,’ of opponents lately,” said Bonner, whose team has played the Rockets twice in the past five games, along with single contests against the Everett Silvertips and Brandon Wheat Kings.

“Trades can come at any time, should they improve our team or our team’ s identity. We won’t be moving any core players. We’ve acquired tons of future pieces over the past few seasons and it’s time to focus on roster issues.

“I would really like to see our full team for a bit to know exactly what we’ve got.”

Vancouver has been without key 16 year olds Tyler Benson, a left winger, and Ryely McKinstry, for the past five games. They’ve been away at the Under-17 world challenge in Sarnia, Ont.

The tournament ended Saturday. Both Benson and McKinstry should be back in the Vancouver line-up Wednesday, when the the Tri-City Americans visit the Pacific Coliseum (7 p.m., TSN 1410).

Seventeen-year-old wingers Ty Ronning (collar bone) and Jakob Stukel (hand) have both been on the Vancouver injured list for the long term. Ronning was hurt in exhibition action. Stukel got into two regular season games.

The Giants have remained coy about their returns, but they haven’t been practising with the team, so you’d think that neither will be suiting up in game action anytime soon.

The Home Team

]]>Apologies here, folks, sometimes those wires get crossed. This was supposed to be up, much, much earlier.

Anyway, here’s a quick run down for your soggy Monday morning.

The Home Team

No news yet on Kevin Bieksa’s injury, but Jim Jamieson is going to work the story as best as he can. He’ll have stuff up later setting up the road trip. There’s a chance for revenge after that stink bomb in Denver last month tomorrow night – the Avs have been dreadful. More on that later.

As for Botch’s game story, there’s plenty to consider. The Preds can skate, the Canucks can’t. Losing Kevin Bieksa, and to a lesser extent, given the road trip, Tom Sestito, has the Canucks in injury crisis mode.

Dan Murphy reports Bieksa will travel:

It's my understanding that Kevin Bieksa will be on #Canucks four game road trip but he's questionable for Tuesday versus #avalanche

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/03/the-morning-skate-nov-3-technology-defeats-us-at-time/feed/0Nashville Predators v Vancouver CanuckspericosWHL Giants captain Dalton Sward remains sidelined with injury; hope is that he’s ready to play next weekendhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/01/whl-giants-captain-dalton-sward-remains-sidelined-with-injury-hope-is-that-hes-ready-to-play-next-weekend/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/11/01/whl-giants-captain-dalton-sward-remains-sidelined-with-injury-hope-is-that-hes-ready-to-play-next-weekend/#commentsSat, 01 Nov 2014 16:32:55 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=168830Vancouver Giants general manager Scott Bonner says that team captain Dalton Sward (lower body) won’t be healthy enough to play until next weekend at the earliest, which means he’ll miss tonight’s trip to Seattle to face the Thunderbirds as well …]]>

Vancouver Giants general manager Scott Bonner says that team captain Dalton Sward (lower body) won’t be healthy enough to play until next weekend at the earliest, which means he’ll miss tonight’s trip to Seattle to face the Thunderbirds as well as tomorrow’s 5 p.m. tilt at the Pacific Coliseum against the Kelowna Rockets.

Sward, one of the team’s three overages, sat out Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings at home. It was the fourth straight loss for the Giants, who carry a 6-8-0-0 mark up against the 6-5-2-1 Thunderbirds. Vancouver is the lone winless road team in the WHL, sitting at 0-6-0-0.

The Giants are 3-3-1-1 in Seattle over the past five years.

Vancouver is also missing left winger Tyler Benson and defenceman Ryely McKinstry, who are both away at the Under-17 world challenge tournament in Sarnia, Ont.

The Giants had tried to call up forward Johnny Wesley from the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, but he’s battling an undisclosed injury and won’t be able to play tonight.

Sward, who’s in his fifth season with Vancouver, has three goals and six points in 13 games. He bagged a career-high 18 goals last season.

If he had played all 72 regular season games this year with the Giants, he would have wound up one shy of franchise leader Neil Manning, who played 310. Craig Cunningham sits in second in team history, with 295, so Sward could still pass him.

Kelowna is 13-1-0-0 going into action Saturday.

Vancouver’s next game after the Kelowna contest is Friday, when the Everett Silvertips come to the Coliseum.

Vancouver’s special teams were key in the loss Saturday, as the power play went 1-for-6 and Prince George scored both of their goals on their two man-advantage chances.

Coach Troy Ward opted to healthy scratch defenceman Dmitry Osipov. Osipov, who was benched for two periods in a game earlier this season for a questionable penalty, was whistled for two infractions in the third period of Friday’s game. The Giants were already missing another veteran rearguard, Arvin Atwal (upper body).

Vancouver is 4-1-0-0 at home and 0-3-0-0 on the road.

The Giants are idle until Friday, when former Don Hay makes his first visit to the Pacific Coliseum with the Kamloops Blazers.

The Blazers are 6-3-1-0.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/12/prince-george-goalie-giants-special-teams-sink-vancouver-in-saturday-whl-action/feed/0steveewenTy Edmonds, minding the net here against the Kelowna Rockets, led the Prince George Cougars to victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants on Saturday.(Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)Red-hot Cougars overager leads home side to win over WHL Giants Fridayhttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/11/red-hot-cougars-overager-leads-home-side-to-win-over-whl-giants-friday/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/11/red-hot-cougars-overager-leads-home-side-to-win-over-whl-giants-friday/#commentsSat, 11 Oct 2014 16:55:18 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=166677Prince George Cougars forward Jari Erricson, who had 26 goals in 192 WHL career games going into this season, bagged his seventh in nine starts in 2014-15 to help the home side to a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Giants …]]>

Prince George Cougars forward Jari Erricson, who had 26 goals in 192 WHL career games going into this season, bagged his seventh in nine starts in 2014-15 to help the home side to a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Giants Friday.

The teams meet again Saturday in Prince George (7 p.m., http://www.tsn1040.ca). Going into Saturday, Erricson, an overage, is second in the WHL in goals. Tyson Baillie of the Kelowna Rockets leads with eight.

Erricson, a Prince George native, missed all but four games last season with a concussion.

Defenceman Tate Olson had the other goal for Prince George (5-4-0-0) Friday. It was his first of the campaign.

Centre Thomas Foster bagged his fifth of the campaign for the Giants (4-3-0-0). He had eight in 71 games last season, his second full campaign with the Giants.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/11/red-hot-cougars-overager-leads-home-side-to-win-over-whl-giants-friday/feed/0steveewenTroy Ward goes over a drill at a recent Vancouver Giants workout in Ladner. (Province Files.) Does WHL Giants star rookie Tyler Benson deserve a one-game suspension for this hit? You be the judgehttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/03/does-whl-giants-star-rookie-tyler-benson-deserve-a-one-game-suspension-for-this-hit-you-be-the-judge/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/03/does-whl-giants-star-rookie-tyler-benson-deserve-a-one-game-suspension-for-this-hit-you-be-the-judge/#commentsFri, 03 Oct 2014 21:11:20 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=165775Various reports have the WHL handing Vancouver Giants rookie left winger Tyler Benson a one-game suspension for the boarding major he picked up in Wednesday’s 7-5 loss to the Kelowna Rockets. He’ll miss tonight’s visit from the Swift Current Broncos.…]]>

Various reports have the WHL handing Vancouver Giants rookie left winger Tyler Benson a one-game suspension for the boarding major he picked up in Wednesday’s 7-5 loss to the Kelowna Rockets. He’ll miss tonight’s visit from the Swift Current Broncos.

We’ll leave the decision to you. Does the below hit merit a one-game suspension?

“I’ll tell him to hit him again; I didn’t think it was a penalty,” Ward said. “I’ll tell him to keep playing hard. As soon as you take the lion out of him, you don’t have a lion king.”

Referees Kevin Bennett and Mike Langin believed otherwise of Benson’s heavy check on Kelowna defenceman Jesse Lees that drove the Rocket into the boards near the Kelowna blueline as time was expiring at the end of the first period.

After discussions amongst the officials, Benson was assessed a boarding major, which came with a game misconduct and an automatic review of the play from the WHL head office on a possible suspension. The Giants were still awaiting word on Thursday afternoon on whether the 6-foot, 196-pound Benson would be eligible to play in Friday’s tilt against the Swift Current Broncos at the Pacific Coliseum (7:30 p.m., Team 1410).

Benson, 16, and Lees, 19, were facing one another when the check took place. Lees didn’t return to the game. No word on the injury. He did wear a full face shield in the game, so the 5-foot-11, 182-pound blueliner was already coming in with some sort of injury. That, too, was not disclosed.

The Rockets definitely felt that the check was questionable and team captain Madison Bowey told the Daily Courier it was inspiration in his team rebounding from a 3-0 first-period deficit.

“We wanted to show we’re not going to get pushed around out here,” said Bowey, who had two goals and three assists on the night. “That was kind of a cheap shot and we hate to see our guys go down like that.”

On Friday, Vancouver (3-1-0-0) gets a Swift Current team that’s already two games into a five-game B.C. road trip. The Broncos (2-4-0-0) lost 3-1 to the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday.

Going into league action Thursday night, the Broncos featured the league’s leading goal scorer in Jay Merkley, who has tallied six times. The 19-year-old centre also has three assists, leaving him one point behind Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cole Sanford for the league lead in that category.

Swift Current hasn’t played in Vancouver since Dec. 7, 2012. They beat the Giants 3-1 that night. The Broncos feature former Giants winger Luca Leone.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/10/02/whl-giants-coach-troy-ward-doesnt-want-to-take-lion-out-possible-lion-king-tyler-benson-after-rookie-tossed-for-boarding-major/feed/0steveewenTyle Benson firing away at a recent Vancouver Giants practice. (Richard Lam/PNG) WHL Giants coach Troy Ward wants to keep three goalies to start season, says youngster Ryan Kubic has been the “most consistent”http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/13/whl-giants-coach-troy-ward-wants-to-keep-three-goalies-to-start-season-says-youngster-ryan-kubic-has-been-the-most-consistent/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/13/whl-giants-coach-troy-ward-wants-to-keep-three-goalies-to-start-season-says-youngster-ryan-kubic-has-been-the-most-consistent/#commentsSat, 13 Sep 2014 13:41:01 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=163452Remember the theory floated on these pages that goaltending was one of the few set spots with the Vancouver Giants, with Payton Lee getting a chance to carry the load?

Remember the theory floated on these pages that goaltending was one of the few set spots with the Vancouver Giants, with Payton Lee getting a chance to carry the load?

Scratch that apparently.

After the Giants wrapped up their WHL preseason schedule on Friday at Sungod Arena with a 3-1 win over the Kelowna Rockets, coach Troy Ward said that he wanted to keep three goalies to start the campaign and playing time between Lee and rookies Ryan Kubic and Cody Porter would be based on “merit.”

“We will play the guy that we feel gives us the best chance to win,” said Ward.

Ward gave each goalie two starts during the 3-2-0-1 exhibition slate, and he says he felt Kubic, 16, was the “most consistent.”

So Kubic could get to be the No. 1 guy on opening night next Saturday, when the Victoria Royals come to town?

“He could,” explained Ward.

Lee, 18, had finished last season as the starter and was strong down the stretch and during the four-game first-round playoff loss to the Portland Winterhawks. He had come into the campaign with lofty expectations, considering that he had taken over the No. 1 job during the dismal 2012-13 season as a 16-year-old. He struggled to begin last year, though, and lost the starter’s spot a couple of times to the since traded Jared Rathjen.

Lee was solid in his first preseason start this year, making 32 saves in a 6-1 win over the Rockets on Aug. 31. He gave up a couple of questionable goals against the flow of the play in the first period of a Sept. 7 tilt versus the Kamloops Blazers, though, and was yanked by Ward after allowing five goals on 23 shots through 40 minutes. Kubic played the third period in what became a 5-1 Vancouver loss.

That left Lee with a 3.60 goals against and a .893 save percentage through the preseason. Kubic was 1.66 and .947, and Porter, a soon-to-be 17-year-old added to Vancouver’s protected list after making his way to the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors last season, was 1.50 and .938.

This could be a ploy. Ward is a shrewd guy. Floating a story in the media to light a fire under Lee and other veterans on the Giants would be in his wheelhouse. That said, Ward is a confident fellow who has spent the past several seasons in pro. Ward won’t be stuck in traditional junior coaching tactics.

Translation: You could argue it would be a ballsy move to go with Kubic (100 minutes of WHL regular season experience as under-age call-up last season) or Porter (no WHL regular season experience) as your No. 1 guy to start the year with Lee (86 WHL regular season games) also on your roster, but Ward will be a ballsy move guy.

“Once you make the team, there’s no age to me. It’d be like me coaching pro and saying that a 22-year-old can’t play because we’ve got a bunch of 30 year olds,” he said.

Keep in mind, too, that there will be a lot of eyes on the Giants and their start. Vancouver has put in a bid to host the 2016 Memorial Cup and the voting process is slated for sometime in October, so WHL governors will be looking to get a read on how good a club they might be next season. The Royals, oddly enough, are also in the running for the host spot, as are the Red Deer Rebels.

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/13/whl-giants-coach-troy-ward-wants-to-keep-three-goalies-to-start-season-says-youngster-ryan-kubic-has-been-the-most-consistent/feed/0steveewenRyan Kubic, handling the puck here, could be handling the Giants' starting goalie chores. (Vancouver Giants photo.) Will hotshot bantam draft pick Ryan Kubic or newcomer Cody Porter win the back-up job with the WHL’s Giants?http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/11/will-hotshot-bantam-draft-pick-ryan-kubic-or-newcomer-cody-porter-win-the-back-up-job-with-the-whls-giants/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/11/will-hotshot-bantam-draft-pick-ryan-kubic-or-newcomer-cody-porter-win-the-back-up-job-with-the-whls-giants/#commentsThu, 11 Sep 2014 23:47:25 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=163313Ryan Kubic is slated to get the start in goal for the Vancouver Giants tonight in Victoria, as the Giants play their fifth of sixth scheduled preseason games in preparation for the 2014-15 WHL season.

Vancouver wraps up exhibition play …

]]>

Ryan Kubic is slated to get the start for the Giants Thursday in Victoria. (Vancouver Giants photo.)

Ryan Kubic is slated to get the start in goal for the Vancouver Giants tonight in Victoria, as the Giants play their fifth of sixth scheduled preseason games in preparation for the 2014-15 WHL season.

Vancouver wraps up exhibition play Friday, playing host to the Kelowna Rockets at Sungod Arena in North Delta.

The duel between Kubic, 16, and Cody Porter, who turns 17 later this month, for the back-up netminder’s gig is just one of the subplots still at play with the Giants with the Sept. 20 season opener against the Royals approaching fast.

Kubic’s one of the organization’s prized prospects right now, a 2013 bantam draft second rounder who was the second goalie picked in that draft. If he beats out Porter, do you want him backing up Payton Lee, 18, this season with the big club, or do you want playing starter’s minutes elsewhere?

But how good is Porter? How good could he be? Vancouver added him to their protected list and he got some time last season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. He looks like a favourite of Giants goalie coach Eli Wilson if you go off this blog posting.

Does Lee mesh with one or the other? Does that even matter? Is adding mentor duties too much on him?

Vancouver went with a 16-year-old back-up in 2011-12, when Jackson Whistle was second string to Adam Morrison. Morrison, an overage, was neck-and-neck with Brendan Gallagher for Vancouver’s best player for much of that season. Morrison played frequently. Whistle had trouble getting into games. When Morrison got hurt later in the year, the Giants even opted to start Lee, then 15, in front of Whistle.

Whistle wound up 1-7-0-3, with a 3.61 goals against. He lost confidence in himself. The team dealt him away the next season to the Rockets.

Guess what? Whistle has been solid the past two seasons and looks ready for the starter’s job with what should be a top-notch Kelowna team this season.

Stats for Cody Porter

Stats for Ryan Kubic

]]>http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/11/will-hotshot-bantam-draft-pick-ryan-kubic-or-newcomer-cody-porter-win-the-back-up-job-with-the-whls-giants/feed/0steveewenRyan Kubic is slated to get the start for the Giants Thursday in Victoria. (Vancouver Giants photo.)Four WHL teams make the Top-10 national preseason ratings, led by the No. 3 Wheat Kingshttp://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/10/four-whl-teams-make-the-top-10-national-preseason-ratings-led-by-the-no-3-wheat-kings/
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/10/four-whl-teams-make-the-top-10-national-preseason-ratings-led-by-the-no-3-wheat-kings/#commentsWed, 10 Sep 2014 23:50:35 +0000http://blogs.theprovince.com/?p=163093Kelly McCrimmon’s ability to stockpile talent hasn’t gone unnoticed.

The Brandon Wheat Kings super boss, who has brought in the likes of Jordan Papirny, Ryan Pilon, Kale Clague and Nolan Patrick via the draft and trades, has a squad that …

The Brandon Wheat Kings super boss, who has brought in the likes of Jordan Papirny, Ryan Pilon, Kale Clague and Nolan Patrick via the draft and trades, has a squad that has won favour from the NHL scouts who contribute to the BMO CHL Top-10 Rankings.

Brandon is the top WHL to start the 2014-15 season, coming in at No. 3. The Kelowna Rockets come in at No. 5.

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the pre-season edition of the BMO CHL Top-10 Rankings for the 2014-15 season. The weekly rankings of the CHL’s Top-10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

The 2014-15 CHL regular season schedule begins tonight in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies visit the defending QMJHL champion Val-d’Or Foreurs. The Western Hockey League schedule opens on Friday September 19, while the Ontario Hockey League regular season begins on Wednesday September 24.

The second edition of the BMO CHL Top-10 Rankings will be published on Wednesday October 1, 2014.

The Vancouver Giants reassigned three players after the weekend, dropping forward Johnny Wesley and defencemen Matt Barberis and Kole Bryks from their training camp roster.

The leaves Vancouver with 15 forwards (including injured Ty Ronning) and eight defencemen, along with three goaltenders.

They finish off the exhibition schedule Thursday on the road against the Victoria Royals and then Friday at Sungod Arena against the Kelowna Rockets.

They open the regular season at home on Sept. 20 against the Royals.

No word yet on where Barberis, Bryks or Wesley will play this season.

Barberis, 16, a Surrey native, was a 2013 WHL bantam draft first-round pick, going 20th overall to the Giants. That was Vancouver’s second first rounder, after left winger Tyler Benson, who went first overall. The Barberis pick was part of the David Musil trade with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Defenceman Ryley McKinstry, 16, a Calgary native who was the first pick of the 2013 second round, 23rd overall, remains with the Giants.

Bryks, 17, was a 2012 sixth rounder, while Wesley, 17, was signed out of the Richmond Junior B Sockeyes.